The Religion Corner
- Written by By Lyndia Grant - WI Contributing Writer
- Thursday, 12 March 2009 15:56
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Lyndia GrantWomen’s History Month Salute to Shirley Chisholm
“Equal Rights for Womenâ€
Shirley Chisholm, the first African American woman elected to Congress, sought the Democratic nomination in 1972 as the first woman to run for president. When the congresswoman from New York launched her spirited campaign, she took on the political establishment. Chisholm said she ran for the office, despite the hopeless odds, to challenge the status quo.
On Thurs., March 5, the Congressional Black Caucus and Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, honored Chisolm.
Pelosi called Chisolm “a brave pioneer who was unwilling to settle for the status quo. … As the first woman speaker of the House, I want to say thank you to Shirley Chisholm.†Pelosi also unveiled a self portrait of Chisholm to Congress.
In her announcement of candidacy, Chisholm said: "I am not the candidate of Black America, although I am Black and proud. I am not the candidate of the women's movement of this country, although I am a woman and I am equally proud of that. I am the candidate of the people, and my presence before you now symbolizes a new era in American political history."
Chisholm lost the Democratic nomination to Sen. George McGovern of South Dakota.
The unspoken assumption, then and now, was that women are different. They do not have executive ability orderly minds, stability, leadership skills, and they are too emotional.
Prejudice against women is still acceptable. There is very little understanding of the immorality involved in double pay scales and the classification of most of the better jobs as “for men only.†More than half of the population of the United States is female. But women occupy only two percent of the managerial positions.
God does not make mistakes, so we thank Shirley Chisholm for being the first woman to open that door, to run for President of the United States.
Excerpts taken from PBS documentary Chisholm: Unbought and Unbossed.
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